Water ski safety belt



June 16, 1964- w. c. LINDEMAN 3,137,015

WATER SKI SAFETY BELT Filed June 50, 1961 INVENTOR.

WARREN C. LINDEMAN W ZWWWW A Horneys v United States Patent "ice 3,137,015 WATER SKI SAFETY BELT Warren C. Lindeman, Angola, Ind, assignor to Crotty Corporation Filed June 30, 1961, Ser. No. 120,990 4 Claims. (Cl. 9--340) This invention pertainsto life belts and more particularly to belts which are especially suited for use by water skiers and the like.

In recent years, water skiing has become an exceedingly popular sport. While popular, the sport is also somewhat dangerous. Prudence and normal safety precautions suggest that the water skier should be equipped with a life jacket or belt to hold him on the surface of the water should he be injured in a fall. Further, a properly designed and constituted jacket or belt can be of material assistance to the water skier at the time when he is in the water and preparing to water ski.

In spite of the fact that manufacturers of life jackets and belts and proponents of water safety have enjoyed a substantial degree of success in persuading large numbers of water skiers that they should be equipped with jackets or belts, their adoption has not been unanimous. Prior known jackets inhibit, to one degree or another, the movements of the skiers. There is some recognized psychological repulsion to a full life jacket that does not apply to this belt developed specifically for the purpose.

Prior known belts have not always been comfortable. Further, previous belts have often been constructed in a manner which may cause injury to the wearer if the belt shifts from the impact of a fall. This is true because belts, if not of an inflatable type, usually include a hard portion which could cause injury in a fall. Inflatable belts have not been satisfactory because of their relatively short life and because they usually require frequent attention to replenish the inflating air.

' The life belt of this invention overcomes these disadvantages of previous devices. It'is a light-weight, simple,

and dependable life belt, which in no way hinders the p movement of a skier. Further, unlike most prior art belts, there is no possibility of injury to the skier in a fall or of discomfort if the belt tends to slide up on the wearer when he is in the water or during his fall. It is a small and attractive belt and experience has shown that it is a belt which many skiers who refuse to wear prior known jackets and belts will readily accept and wear.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a novel and improved ski belt which will not interfere with skiers motions.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of manufacture of a life belt.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a continuous belt from end to end, without splices, with the buoyant material enveloping a portion of the belt between the ends thereof.

A further object of this invention is to asemble such continuous belt and buoyant material neatly, accurately positioned with respect to one another, and completely united in order that separation will not take place under stress.

Foamed plastics having individual cells which do not communicate with one another are widely employed for water environment service. These materials are directly opposed to the types employed for the purposes of making sponges. In view of the fact that the cells do not communicate, there can be no absorption of water into the material.

. However, attaching fastening harnesses and belts to such material is a diflicult proposition. Particularly is it diflicult to secure such a union that may be trusted when a flexible belt.

3,137,015 Patented June 16, 1964 form somewhat under cutting operations, and molding operations are too expensive in most instances-for low cost items such as the one illustrated in drawings herein. This invention solves very nicely the safety feature. of a continuous belt, together with eliminating the problem of positioning two halves in order to make a conventional sandwich-type structure.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which: 7

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of one of the novel and improved belts with parts broken away and removed for clarity of detail;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the device on an enlarged scale with respect to FIGURE 1 and as seen from a plane of cross section indicated by the line 2, 32, 3 of FIGURE 1 and showing one'step in the manufacture of the belt; and,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view in the plane and scale of FIGURE 2 of the completed belt.

The improved life belt of this invention has an elongated resilient and pliable buoyant body .10. The body 10 has first and second faces 11, 12 and spaced side edges 13, 14. The faces 11, 12 and the side edges 13, 14 together define a body'which is of generally rectangular cross sectional configuration.

An elongated fiber belt 15 is provided. The fiber belt 15 has a length which is greater than the body 10. The belt projects from spaced ends 16, 17 of the body. A pair of crescent shaped rings 18, are fixed at one end of the belt, the upper end as seen in FIGURE 1. The fiber belt 15 is folded on itself and secured to itself in the usual manner at 19 to connect the rings 18 to the belt. These rings 18 are of the familiar typeutilized to secure In the usual manner, the fiber belt feeds through the rings, wraps around one, and is fed back through the other to provide an adjustable frictional holding for the belt. The fiber belt 15 is, of course, longer than the buoyant body 10 to accommodate wearers of a variety of waist measurements.

The body 10 is formed of a foamed plastic material of the type in which the interstices or pores are not in communication with one another, thus making it permanently buoyant.

In manufacture, the body 10 is first cut from a large sheet of the foamed material. mately the finished silhouette shown in plan view in FIG- URE 1 and to the rectangular section shown in FIGURE 2. Next, the body 10 is cut longitudinally to provide an elongated slit 20 which extends from One end 16 of the body 10 to the other end 17. The slit 20 is formed in a longitudinal plane of cross section midway between the faces 11, 12 in the illustration. The slit 20 extends from the side edge 13, in the embodiment shown, toward the other edge 14. The slit extends in depth to an elongated line termination, designated by reference 21. This line termination is spaced from the side edge 13 is a distance equal to one-half the width between side edges 13, 14 plus one-half the dimension of the belt 15. In other words, the slit is located such that when the fiber belt 15 is abutted against the termination 21, the fiber belt and the body 10 will have longitudinal center lines which are coincident.

It is round out to approxi- The next step in the manufacture of this device is" to locatethe fiber belt in the slit 2t) and against the line termination 21. The loop of belting at 19 goes back into the slot in order to conceal the raw end and provide further reinforcement. With thefiber belt so positioned, bonding material is applied to the faces of the slit 2d and to the fiber belt 15. The body is then compressed to press the faces of the slit together and against the belt 15 and thereby firmly bond the belt in its selected position as well as to firmly and permanently'close the slit 20.

The formation of the'slit in the manner described'has the outstanding advantage that no jigs or other mechanisms are required to position two halves of the body 10 relative to one another when the bonding operation" is undertaken. Further, because of the softness and flexi bility-of the material employed, it is extremely Clifi'lCUli to obtain an acceptable alignment of two halves if the body is slit completely in half, the belt is inserted and one then attempts to bond the halves back together. j

Further, because of the inherent strength and adhesion of the material itself as compared With two pieces bonded together a stronger belt is obtained with this method. In addition, asimplified manufacture is obtained with a great decrease 'in'scrap loss. After the slit 20 has been'bonded closed, the edges of the belt are burnished to provide a smooth, rounded oir appearance as shown best in FIGURES 1 and 3. The side edge 13 is also burnished to remove any revealing indication of the presence of 'theslit.

Finally, the entire assembly is dipped. in a suitable protective and decorative coating A resin plastisol solution is preferred for this purpose. This provides a thorough, firmly bonded and flexible decorative and protective layer that resists attach of salt water, rust, mildew or the like. While the invention has been described with a great deal of detail, it is believed that it comprises a novel and improved life belt having an elongated pliable and flexible buoyant body, a longitudinally extending slit formed I therein and extending from one end to the other and from one side edge toward the other, a flexible belt disposed in the slit and projecting from the ends of the body, a bonding material, bonding the. faces of the slit together 'and the belt'to the body. However, it is understood that numerous changes in detail and construction'may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed;

, What is claimed is:

1. A life belt comprising an integral elongated body of pliable and flexible material having a specific gravity substantially less than that of water, said body having an elongated slit extending from one end to the other and extending inwardly from one side edge of said body toward the other side edge, said slit terminating at a location defined by a line spaced from said other side edge and leaving an unslit portion of said body such that said body remains in an integral state, an elongated flexible belt disposed in said slit to lie along the termination line of said slit, said flexible belt having its ends projecting outwardly from the opposite ends of said body, fastening means at at least one'end of said flexible belt to interconnect the ends of'said belt and hold the body by means of said flexible belt around the body of the wearer, and bonding material interposed between the abutting faces of said slit bonding said faces together and bonding said flexible belt to said faces.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the depth of said slit is equal to one-hal the distance between said side edges plus one-half the Width of the flexible belt such that the longitudinal center line of the belt and the body are coincident.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said flexible belt and body are covered by a water-impervious protective and decorative coating. 7

4. The method of forming a'life belt comprising shaping aquantity of flexible foamed plastic material into an elongated integral body, forming an elongated slit from one end to the other of said body, said slit extending inwardly from one side edge toward the other side edge and terminating at a line spaced from said other side edge to leave an unsli't portion of said body such that said body remains in an integral state, positioning a flexible belt of a greater length than said body in said slit to lie along the termination line of said slit with the ends of said flexible belt projecting outwardly from the opposite ends of said body, and bonding the flexible belt to the abutting faces of said slit and the remainder of said abutting faces to one another to close said slit and permanently connect said flexible belt to said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,585,513 Royal May 18, 1926 2,950,489 Pattison Aug. 30, 1960 

1. A LIFE BELT COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL ELONGATED BODY OF PLIABLE AND FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING A SPECIFIC GRAVITY SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THAT OF WATER, SAID BODY HAVING AN ELONGATED SLIT EXTENDING FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER AND EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM ONE SIDE EDGE OF SAID BODY TOWARD THE OTHER SIDE EDGE, SAID SLIT TERMINATING AT A LOCATION DEFINED BY A LINE SPACED FROM SAID OTHER SIDE EDGE AND LEAVING AN UNSLIT PORTION OF SAID BODY SUCH THAT SAID BODY REMAINS IN AN INTEGRAL SLATE, AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE BELT DISPOSED IN SAID SLIT TO LIE ALONG THE TERMINTION LINE OF SAID SLIT, SAID FLEXIBLE BELT HAVING ITS ENDS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BODY, FASTENING MEANS AT AT LEAST ONE END OF SAID FLEXIBLE BELT TO INTERCONNECT THE ENDS OF SAID BELT AND HOLD THE BODY BY MEANS OF SAID FLEXIBLE BELT AROUND THE BODY OF THE WEARER, AND BONDING MATERIAL INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE ABUTTING FACES OF SAID SLIT BONDING SAID FACES TOGETHER AND BONDING SAID FLEXIBLE BELT TO SAID FACES. 